Soldering-machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. J. DOLAN.

SULDERING MACHINE.

No. 399,386. Patented Mar. 12, 1889.

XVM.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. J. DOLAN.

SOLDERING MACHINE. t No. 899,386. Patented Mar. l2, 1889.

lllll WWII Nithin @rares Armar @triest EDARD J. DOLAN, ()l\` lil'llLADELPHlA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO TUE UREAV ("A AND MANUFCIVRIG COMPANY, OF DEliAlYARE.

SOLDERINGHVIACHINB SPECIFICAT'LON forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,386, dated March l2, 1889.

Application tiled September 18, 1888; Serial No. 285,730. (No modela To all u'iont 'if' muy concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD J. DOLAN, a citizen ol' the United Sta-tes, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Soldering- Machines and l do declare the following to b'e a full, clear, and exact description of the invenn tion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specica-tion.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in machines for soldering the seams ol' sheet metal, andit more particularly relates to the solderin ot sheetmetal cans; and it has for its object to simplify and otherwise improve upon previous devices of this character, to effect a saving in the solder, and to provide a free and uniform 'liow of the solder to the seam at all times, thus insuring the perfect; soldering,` of the seam, notwithstandin slight inequalities that may exist in the sheet metal or slight imperfections in the form of the can.

A further object of the invention isto provide a soldering-machine in which the solder is melted within a suitable chamber and carried by capillargv attraction from the chamber in which it is melted to the seam of the can, the mechanism being of such construction as to utilize the same blaze of burner in melting the solder and in maintaining a Yflow ot' the solder.

To these ends, and to such others as the invention may pertain, the same consists in the peculiar combinations and in the novel construction, arrangement, and adaptation of parts, all as more fully hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and then specifically delin ed in the appended claims.

The invention is clearliv illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this speciiication, and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a sufficient portion of a machine constructed in accordance with my invention to full)`- illustrateits construction and operation. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same.

In Fig. l of the drawings l have illustrated six of the soldering-irons; but it is to be understood that this number mayv be increased or diminished at pleasure. The specific construction of the irons and burner may be seen on reference to Fig. 2, in which H is the gassupply pipe, suitablyv supported on the frame A of the machine, and provided with suitable outlets governed by cocks, as shown, to which are connected the liexible pipes 7i, communi eating with the burner l, each burner being provided with. a suitable aiieinlet pipe, i. These burners being of an)v approved or wellknown construction, l have not shown them in detail, and a further description of them in this connection is unnecessary.

VThe soldering-irons are constructed as lollows:

J is a casting ot' suitable shape, pivoted ou the shaft j, and .provided upon the rear portion of its upper face with a solder trough or chamber, j?.

.V represents a series of parallel wires ar- -ranged in proximity and extending from the interior of the solder-chamber over the front edge of the same, and thence downward over the upper inclinedface of the casting J, and terminating at a point slightly bevond the. outer edge of the same, where they together serve to form the soldering-iron proper, o, which is designed to bear upon the can at the point at which the solder is to be applied during the process ot' manufacture. 'lhe cans are designed to be carried along by some suitable machinery. (Not shown, but preferably such as I have described in some ol' my previons patents.)

JiE is a plate of metal correslionding inform 'with the upper face ot' the [rontportion of the casting J, and it is fitted down, upon the upper faces of the wires .l`2 and serves to retain the same in place against the upper faceLjS, ot' the casting.

Jl JL are longitudinal bars or rods having their ends secured. within the inner ends ol the casting .l at points slightl)- above the plate J3, and said plate is held securely in IOO place by means of metallic wedges J, which are driven in between the upper face of the plate and the lower edges of the bars J4, as will clearly appear upon reference to Fig. i of the drawings. Y

The burner I is passed into the hollow i11- terior of the lower portion of the casting. through suitable openings formed for the purpose in the rear face of the casting, and it is designed by means of said burner to keep the entire casting heated to such a degree of temperature as to insure the solder both within the solder-chamber and between the wires being kept at all times in a molten condition.

The castings .I are arranged in proximity, as is clearly shown in Fig. l, and are sleeved upon the shaft j. These castings yare in all respects similar, and in order to insure at all times a close contact of each of the solderingirons with that of the nextV adjacent in the series I provide a spiral spring, M2, loosely sleeved upon the end of the shaft j, and adaptedtobear against the outer end of the rst casting in the series. y

Msis fa rod secured at one end to the rear face of the casting J.

IVI'l is a weightadjustably secured to the rear end of the rodM, and serves the purpose of regulating the pressure of the soldering-iron upon the seam, as will be readily understood upon reference to Fig.

M5 is a spiral spring connected at one end with a support or bracket, hl, and supporting the rod M3.

Each of the several castings J, sleeved upon the shaft j, acts independently of the remaining castings in the series, and each is provided with a rod, M3, and is counterbalanced in the manner described.

Z3 is a set-screw tapped through the rod M3 and bearing against the lower face of the support of the bracket M. By the adjustment of this set-screw the movement of the arm may be adjusted.

The seam of each can, as it is carried pastthe series of soldering-irons, which may be done in any suitable manner, so as to present either the side orend seam, as desired, (mechanism for this purpose being well known in the art,) is acted upon in turn by each of the irons, so that in case the seam is not perfectly soldered by the ii rst iron a perfect soldering of the seam is insured by the contact of the next irons in the series.

N is a shaft extending the entire length of the machine upon a higher plane than that of the solderingirons. f

N is a casting sleeved upon said shaft and provided with an arm, N2, at its outer end, carrying a weight, Extending along the entire length of the casting N', at its rear side, is a rod, N, forming a part of the casting.

It will be seen that when at any time it may be considered as desirable to lift all of the soldering-irons simultaneously from contact with the cans by lifting' the weight 'N8 from a horizontal to a vertical vposition the rod NA1 will be thus depressed and will bear downward against the upper faces of the weight-rods M3, thus depressing their rear ends and raising the soldering-irons, and by reversing the weight N3, so as to cause it to occupy the position shown in Fig. 2, the rod N'l is raised from contact with the rods lV 3, and the irons are returned to their former p0- sition.

Although I have shown and described a series of parallel wires as the medium for conducting the molten solder from the solder-chamber to the seam of the can, and I at present prefer such construction, still it is at once evident that iron filings or other substances of a like nature could vrbe substituted for the wires, the flow of thesolder being maintained by means of capillary attraction through the spaces intervening between the particles of the lings, instead of the spaces between the wires. Y Y Y I prefer the use of wires that have been tinned.

e What I claim to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A sollderi11g-instrument consisting of a number of separate bodies affording capillary interstices for the passage of molten solder, substantially as described.

2. In a solderingmachine, a solder-feed formed of a plurality of wires, substantially as described.

'3. In a soldering-maehine, a siphonic solder-feed formed of a plurality of wires, substantially as described.

4. A solder-feeder consisting of a number of separate bodies arranged in the form of a siphon and affording capillary interstices for the passage of molten solder, substantially as described.

5. In a soldering-machine, a capillary siphonic solder-feed formed of a plurality of wires compressed, substantially as described.

(5. The combination, with the solder-holder, of a plurality of wires, a plate for holding said wires against said holder, and means for holding said plate upon the wires and holder, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

'7. The combination, with the solder-holder and the longitudinal bars above the same, of the plate, the wires between said plate and the holder, and keepers for holding said plate in position, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the solder-holder and the longitudinal bars above the same, of the plate, the plurality of wires between said plate and holder, and thewedges between the bars and plate, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

9. A solder-feeder formed of a plurality of separate bodies, affording capillary in terstices for the passage of molten solder, with one end forming the point of the soldering-iron, substantially as described.

l0. A combined siphonic solder-feeder and IOO IIO

holder and the other end extending to the A position of the parts to be soldered7 substantially as described.

13. In asoldering-inaehine, a Combined capillary solder-feeder and iron formed of a plurality of sinned Wires, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in' 2o presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD J. DOLAX.

lVitnesses:

B. F. FULLER, R. W. RUTHERFORD. 

